Redistricting Update---Set of Maps Chosen

Just a quick update on redistricting, the County Board's Executive Committee met tonight and chose a set of maps.  We were given 3 options.  When I first saw the three options, I wasn't too thrilled with them.  However, after reviewing them closely and after hearing the explanation of our Data and GIS Manager explain why each set of maps were set up that way, one set of maps really stood out as a very good option for the next 10 years.

All three sets of maps focused on the following 5 priorities:

• Equal Population
• Compact districts
• Follow municipal lines
• City, Village and Town representation
• Minimize ballot styles

We chose draft 3.  What made this set of maps good?

• It gave the village of Jackson its own district, something that was lacking in the district maps used for the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections and something that many on the board, myself included, wanted.  The Village of Jackson has the population to support having their own district, and the current district boundaries split the Village of Jackson into two.
• It gave a fair representation to the towns.  Statistically, the towns have not grown as fast as the cities or villages.  With the 2020 population data, the villages should have 8 districts, the two cities should have 7, and the towns should have 6.  The population increases no longer supported the equal 7/7/7 breakout between the towns, cities, and villages.  Keeping the towns with 6 representatives was important.
• The design stuck closely to municipal boundary lines, reducing the number of different ballot combinations that will be needed for the county's April elections and making it easier for municipalities to draw up their districts and wards.
• It was the only map that kept the City of West Bend as 5 districts, where the other two had West Bend over 6 districts with some area of the towns in their district.

In general, almost everyone seemed to recognize the value of the district maps we chose.

Most importantly, two years ago we voted to reduce the County Board from 26 to 21 Supervisors.  This was something that many Supervisors, including myself, had promised to do for our constituents, and it was good to fulfill this promise.  

Redistricting & Consolidating (At the County Level)

It is redistricting time!!!

On a state level, this means that legislative districts are being redrawn, and arguing will ensue about how to most fairly apportion the districts between Republicans and Democrats.  The side that feels that they "lost" in the redistricting process will make claims of gerrymandering, while the side that "won" will point to gerrymandering attempts the losing side made.

On a County level, redistricting fairly means something different.  We don't have blue districts and red districts, but instead have districts in various shades of red.  So for our county, the focus is on fairly representing the Cities, Villages, and Towns of Washington County.  In our county, the population as of the 2010 census was split up pretty evenly, with a third the population living in either the city of West Bend and Hartford, a third the population living in one of the 7 villages, and a third the population living in one of the 13 townships.

As well, our County Board is consolidating, and going from 26 Supervisors to 21.  As a side note, this fulfills a campaign promise I made when I ran in 2018.  I ran on that promise, and am thrilled to fulfill it.

So what will the new maps look like?  We don't know yet, but we can make some guesses before some options are shown to the Executive Committee at our upcoming August 24th meeting.

• One easy guess, since the cities will likely have 7 Supervisors between them, West Bend will go from 6 Supervisory districts to 5, and Hartford will go from 3 to 2.  I can't imagine either of these not happening.
• Another easy guess, the Village of Kewaskum has never been big enough to be its own district, and has no nearby village to connect with, so it will likely be paired up with the township of Kewaskum, as it traditionally has been. 

Beyond those easy guesses, I don't know what to expect in these options.  I do think it is important to try to equally represent the towns and villages with 7 Supervisors each, though that may not be perfectly possible.

Over the course of the next few months, the County Board will chose a set of maps that will be used for the 2022 County Board Elections. I will endeavor to try to support maps that closely balance out representation between the cities, villages, and towns.